Nov. 12, 2009

CSU Game Notes

ATHENS, Ohio - The 2009-10 season will officially get under way for Ohio women's basketball as it heads to Cleveland State to battle the Vikings in its season opener Friday night in the Wolstein Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Ohio played one exhibition game in preparation for the season opener, claiming a close 69-67 victory over an upstart Ohio Dominican squad Nov. 3. The `Cats got 30 points on the evening from senior Jennifer Bushby (Gahanna, Ohio), while classmate Jenny Poff added nine, including the winning shot at the buzzer, and junior Carolyn Barnett (North Chicago, Ill.) chipped in eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

The `Cats will be starting their second season under head coach head coach Semeka Randall during the 2009-10. Ohio finished 13-18 overall last season while facing perhaps the toughest schedule in program history. Randall's troops also established themselves as perhaps the strongest defensive unit in the Mid-American Conference, as the `Cats ranked second in the conference in scoring defense and blocked shots and first in field goal percentage defense and rebounding defense.

Nine letterwinners, including three starters, return for the Green and White this seaso. Included in that group are returning starters Poff, Bushby, a preseason All-MAC selection, and junior Kamille Buckner (Chicago, Ill.). Two others, junior Thia Gholson and sophomore Da'Keisha Mann, also started multiple games last year to give Ohio a solid group of returning players. Five newcomers, including a freshman class that ranked as the second-best class in the MAC by hoopgurlz.com, round out the Bobcat roster for this season.

Randall will see a familiar face on the other side of the court in Viking coach Kate Peterson-Abiad. Randall was an assistant at CSU under Peterson-Abiad during the 2002-03 season. The two will be meeting for the second-straight year, with Ohio claiming a 76-66 win over the Vikings last season.

CSU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad that won 19 games. Headlining the list of Viking returnees is senior guard Kailey Klein (16.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg), who a preseason All-Horizon League first team selection and the Horizon League preseason Player of the Year. Other players to watch are Jessica Rouqe (10.8, 2.8, 2.7) and junior Shawnita Garland (12.4, 4.3, 2.8 spg), who joined Klein on the preseason all-league first team. Abiad-Peterson is in her seventh season at the helm of CSU.

Fans can listen to the game live on WOUB AM 1340 and at OhioBobcats.com. Tony Castricone and Allie LaForce will call the action.